How to Make Low-Fat Cheese at Home

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How to Make Low-Fat Cheese at Home

Cheese is a great addition to almost any meal, but too much of a good thing can be bad for you. All those extra pounds cheese can add might take a toll on your health, so you should search for low-cal cheese. Sometimes it can be difficult to understand the meanings of all those fillers they put in low-fat cheese, though, and the best way to avoid this is to make your own. Here is a step-by-step recipe that will show you how to make your own low-fat Swiss cheese.

Instructions

How to Make Lo-Fat Cheese at Home

Step 1

Heat the milk to 90 degrees F. Add the starter and mix well.

Step 2

Remove 1/2 cup of milk from the pot and add the propionic shermanii to it. Mix thoroughly to dissolve the powder. Add the mixture to the milk and stir. Cover and allow the milk to ripen for approximately 10 minutes.

Step 3

Make sure that the milk's temperature ALWAYS remains at 90 degrees F. Add the diluted rennet and stir gently with an up-and-down motion for approximately 1 minute. If you use farm fresh cow's milk, top stir for several minutes longer. Cover and let the milk set at 90 degrees F for approximately 30 minutes.

Step 4

Using a curd knife and a stainless steel whisk, cut the curd into 1/4 inch cubes.

Step 5

Keeping the curd temperature at 90 degrees F, gently stir the curds for approximately 40 minutes. This is called fore-working and helps expel whey from the curds before they are heated.

Step 6

Heat the curds by 1 degree every minute until the temperature is 120 degrees F. This will take approximately 30 minutes. Maintain the temperature at 120 degrees F for another 30 minutes, stirring often. The curds must be cooked until they reach a stage called the "proper break." To test for this, wad together a handful of curds and rub it gently between your palms. It the ball readily breaks apart into individual particles, the curds are sufficiently cooked. If they are not sufficiently cooked, they will be too soft to hold the cheese together. Let the curds set for approximately 5 minutes.

Step 7

Pour off the whey and reserve it for other recipes.

Step 8

Line a 2 lb. mold with cheesecloth and place it in the sink or over a large pot. Quickly ladle the curds into the mold. You do not want the curds to cool. Press at 8 to 10 lbs. of pressure for approximately 15 minutes.

Step 9

Remove the cheese from the mold and gently peel away the cheesecloth. Turn over the cheese, re-dress it and press at 14 lbs. of pressure for 30 minutes.

Step 10

Repeat the process but press at the same pressure of 14 lbs. for 2 hours.

Step 11

Repeat the process but press at 15 lbs. of pressure for 12 hours

Step 12

Make a saturated brine bath by combining the salt and water in a noncorrosive pot; stir well. Remove the cheese from the mold, peel away the cheesecloth, and soak the cheese in the brine. Sprinkle the remaining pinch of salt on the surface of the floating cheese. Refrigerate the brine and let the cheese soak for 12 hours.

Step 13

Remove the cheese from the brine and pat dry. You can reserve the brine for other uses if you so desire. Place the cheese on a clean cheese board and store between 50 to 55 degrees F and at 85 percent humidity. Turn the cheese daily for 1 week, wiping it with a clean cheesecloth dampened in salt water. Do not wet the cheese.

Step 14

Place the cheese in a warm, humid room, such as the kitchen, with the temperature between 68 and 74 degrees F. Turn it daily and wipe it with a cheesecloth dampened in salt water. Do not wet the surface of the cheese. Let the cheese set for 2 to 3 weeks, until eye formation is noticeable. The cheese will swell somewhat and become slightly rounded.

Step 15

Age the cheese at 45 degrees F and at 80 percent humidity for at least 3 months. Turn the cheese several times a week. Remove any surface mold with cheesecloth dampened in salt water. A reddish coloration on the surface of the cheese is normal and should not be removed.

Tips and Warnings

This recipe will make about 2 lbs. of cheese.
This is a very long drawn out process. Don't let the process discourage you. Patience and persistence is the key to successfully completing this recipe.
This recipe is for low-fat Swiss cheese. If you prefer another type of low-fat cheese, you can use a normal cheese recipe and substitute it with low-fat milk.